


Nowhere Else to Be

by herrib



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, and couldn't think of an ending for, some lesbian domesticity that i started last month
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:08:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24014149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herrib/pseuds/herrib
Summary: Ellie rolled her eyes. “Just watch your movie, old man,” she teased, reaching for the gray hoodie draped across the arm of their old couch. She blushed whenever anyone talked to her about Dina, at that point. “I’m spending the night, so you don’t worry about waiting up for me. Was gonna go to my shift from her place in the morning.”
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 179





	Nowhere Else to Be

**Author's Note:**

> sooo... its been a while since i've posted. i've had major writers block, haven't felt very inspired because of all the bad news going on in the world lately, also the last of us related. i wrote this before the leaks came out. i had the game spoiled for me unfortunately :-( but i'm trying to stay positive about getting to play it next month. since i haven't been feeling inspired, if anyone has any ideas or prompts that they'd like me to try, please let me know! i'd like to do something with multiple chapters as well, maybe a modern au...? anyways, stay safe everybody

“Headin’ out, kiddo?”

Joel called out to the young woman from the comfort of this favorite recliner, the hum of the old television in front of him filling the room. It was a relatively cool evening in Jackson, the early autumn air starting to subtly make its presence known again. Most of the community reveled in it, preparing themselves for the holiday season once the first chilly night in October arrived. It was evident even for Joel, despite his overall pessimism, as he popped another seasonally-appropriate horror film into the dusty, but well loved DVD player. Ellie didn’t recognize it; he must have gotten a new one from Tommy.

“Yeah, Dina invited me over to hers tonight,” Ellie did her best to repress the grin that tried to fight its way onto her face. She was dressed in her nicested clothes, which was a dead giveaway, she had to admit. She had actually properly brushed her hair before, of course, putting it into a small bun at the nape of her neck. On her legs she donned her only pair of jeans with no rips or tears, and on her torso, the maroon flannel that Dina had told her she looked “handsome” in. She only ever went out of her way for Dina. She wouldn’t do it for anyone else.

“Ah, Dina,” Joel smirked, breaking his gaze from the television and looking toward Ellie. “Should’a known, you look mighty nice.” 

Ellie rolled her eyes. “Just watch your movie, old man,” she teased, reaching for the gray hoodie draped across the arm of their old couch. She blushed whenever anyone talked to her about Dina, at that point. “I’m spending the night, so you don’t worry about waiting up for me. Was gonna go to my shift from her place in the morning.”

“Sure,” Joel chuckled, running his hands through his short hair. He drew his eyes back to the film once again. “This a date?”

“No!” Ellie shot back. She wasn’t ashamed for being head over heels for Dina, per se, but she couldn’t help but be apprehensive. Dina had Jesse, or had, since the two couldn’t seem to ever stay together for more than a few weeks at a time. They were broken up for now. She wasn’t sure if Dina even liked women, since Ellie couldn’t muster the nerve to ask. Ellie had almost convinced herself that Dina’s play-flirting was real as well. Whenever they were in each others presence, Dina’s eyes would always linger on her for slightly too long, her gaze softer than normal, and Ellie wondered what would happen if she threw out her anxieties for a minute and just kissed her -

She cut the fantasy off before it continued. She was almost late anyway.

In a hurried manner, Ellie pulled the sweatshirt over her head and tugged it down her frame before moving toward the door. She felt the thick cotton inside yank a few strands out from her bun, rendering it messy. Of course, she thought to herself. She huffed, running a somewhat sweaty palm over her hair, moving them back into place. Her audible discouragement caught Joel’s attention, and he turned to her again.

“Ellie, you got tomato sauce on that hoodie last night. Look.” 

She paused and looked down, and sure enough, she was met with a dark red splotch sitting across the gray fabric.

“Fuck!”

*

Ellie did eventually adjust her appearance again and make her way into the streets of Jackson, on her way to Dina’s. It wasn’t night yet, just a bit after most of the community would head indoors for supper. A few of the younger children were out still, shouting and laughing, chasing one another. Some residents were even decorating and stringing up fairy lights around their homes for the upcoming season. The air was refreshing, finally giving them a reprieve from the overbearing heat and humidity of that summer. Ellie basked in the peaceful moment before picking up her pace. She was surely late now.

Ellie’s heart skipped a beat when Dina came into view, waiting patiently outside for her.

“Hey!” Dina smiled, moving quickly toward the taller woman. Dina wrapped her in a tight hug then, squeezing playfully, before letting her go. Ellie couldn’t help but notice the scent that wafted from her; she smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. Ellie felt her stomach twisting, the way it always did around Dina. She could feel heat rushing to her face, as well as her neck.

Dina looked at her with gentle concern, her smile faltering a tad. 

“You okay? You’re like… more red than normal.”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine,” Ellie answered, slightly strained. Keeping her head about her around Dina seemed like it was becoming more of a challenge every time she had to do it. Get it together Williams, she thought to herself. “I think your vision’s going.” 

“Oh please,” Dina rolled her eyes, shoving the taller woman’s shoulder in jest. “Hurry up and get inside, I made you a plate.”

Dina led the way for Ellie up the narrow stairs to her home, and Ellie couldn’t help but let her thoughts consume her for a moment. Dina was dressed just as nicely as she was, it seemed - although Ellie was admittedly biased and thought that whenever she saw Dina. She sported a pair of fitted jeans, and a deep plum long sleeved shirt with the plunging front that Ellie liked; she remembered Dina saying it was a “sweetheart” neckline. Whatever it was, she couldn’t take her eyes off of her whenever she wore it. Dina let her hair down that evening as well, thick dark waves descending over her shoulders and along her back. It was something the woman rarely did. Ellie convinced herself that she was being tested by the universe by making Dina even more beautiful than normal that evening.

Once the two had made their way inside, Ellie was overwhelmed with the vanilla and cinnamon scent again. Dina’s home was relatively small, a single house split into two units for another one of Jackson’s residents. The dark haired woman had always been very put-together, both in appearance and in work. Her home was just as neat. Despite the aged furniture and chipped wall paint, Dina managed to keep it comfortable.

“So,” Dina explained enthusiastically, leading Ellie behind her. She nodded Ellie toward her small dining table, pressing her to sit down. In front of her was a steaming plate of rice, vegetables, and chicken. A napkin laid neatly folded next to her right, along with a glass of iced water. “How was your shift today?”

Ellie sat in silence for a moment, taken aback by Dina’s hospitality. Usually, the two would be lounging on Dina’s couch at around this time, watching a movie after passing Dina’s bowl back and forth, taking a few hits of whatever Dina had left, and slipping into a warm haze for the rest of the night. Their meetings were always low maintenance that way; the most the two ever needed was to be around each other.

“Did you poison this?” Ellie questioned, motioning toward the plate before her. It smelled divine, Ellie had to admit. That made her all the more suspicious.

“No!” Dina crossed her arms. “You’re so mean.”

“I dunno Dina,” Ellie smirked. “You haven’t called me a loser once since I’ve gotten here. Seems suspicious to me.”

Dina rolled her eyes and waved Ellie off. She moved toward the stove and pulled the door open a tad, squinting intently at something inside. Dim light spilled out, a sweet smell following.

“What is that?” Ellie inquired, finally digging into the food Dina had served her. Dina reached for the oven mits beside the oven then, carefully pulled out two trays, and laid them gently upon the coils of the stove. The normality, the domesticity of the situation left Ellie wondering if this was the closest she’d ever get to experiencing life before the outbreak, living with a woman she loved. She wouldn’t know first hand of what things were like, obviously. Ellie listened to some of the older men in Jackson talk about their loved ones lost in passing, many of which were their girlfriends and wives. She knew she was different on the basis of being a woman who loved other women, but she couldn’t help but think of herself in their shoes; arriving home to her wife, wife, like this. The very word in the context of Dina set her cheeks ablaze again.

“Cookies for you, loser.”

*

The two chatted for some time, having not seen each other as often as they’d like. That usually happened whenever Dina and Jesse were together, but not from Dina becoming disinterested in Ellie; the two bickered so often that it ate up most of Dina’s time. It felt good for the two to talk about anything other than Jesse, for differing reasons of course. They chatted about mundane topics, such as their patrol routes, town meetings, and town gossip for what felt like moments, but managed to be hours. They hadn’t realized it until they took note of how incredibly dark and quiet the streets outside had become.

Dina and Ellie moved to the living room once the two had gorged themselves in cinnamon cookies and milk between their chatter, food induced sleepiness overtaking them. 

“What movie are we watching?” Ellie spoke. She took her seat on Dina’s couch then, the cushions almost consuming her. 

“Uh, what have we watched every October for the last three years?” Dina smirked at her, waving a DVD case in her hand. Ellie narrowed her eyes in search of a title.

“Dina! The Shining? It’s like, four fucking hours long.”

“So? You don’t have anywhere else to be.” 

Dina went about meddling with the somewhat messy pile of cords behind her television set, along with the DVD player; that was the one area of her home that she hadn’t quite tackled yet.

“You already know you’re not gonna stay awake for it,” Ellie quipped. As much as she wasn’t in the mood, she’d let Dina pick the movie just because it was her. Once Dina had managed to find the right channel and pressed play, she settled on the couch directly beside Ellie, neglecting the rest of the space next to her. 

“Shut it, Williams,” Dina smirked. She pressed her thigh against Ellie’s then. “You’re worse than me.”

Ellie’s heart skipped a beat, letting the quiet overtake them. The air felt thicker to her, every part of her tensing up ever so slightly. Dina always made it difficult to relax when she was touchy; Ellie knew, or figured, that Dina wasn’t feeling what she felt. Every time Dina grew silent and leaned closer, nearer to her, Ellie asked herself if maybe, things might just take a step further this time -

“Would you ever want kids?” Dina interrupted Ellie’s train of thought, her voice faint. She scooted closer to the taller woman, resting her head upon her shoulder, searching for warmth. 

“Uh,” Ellie nearly choked. The room suddenly felt hotter. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it a lot.”

Dina sighed.

Ellie tried to lift herself from her discomfort. “Should I be worried? We’re watching The Shining, Dina. You know what happens.”

“No, ass,” Dina mumbled. “I just wonder sometimes… y’know, what things would be like if we were older, before the outbreak. Like, having a job and a family. It isn’t fair.”

Ellie’s heart ached from the hurt that hung off of Dina’s voice. She had that conversation with herself every so often, when things became more difficult, more desperate around Jackson. Every time another resident passed, or became sick. The smallest of injuries could morph into an infection, or pneumonia, something more difficult to treat. Something that could’ve been treated before her time. It was easier to lose one another. There was inherent risk in loving the people they already knew, let alone the ones they would bring into the world.

“Yeah,” Ellie spoke softly. She knew she couldn’t comfort Dina much. 

She decided to be brave for just a moment, resting her cheek against Dina’s hair. Ellie was overwhelmed with love for her best friend; the affectionate touches were enough to drive her mad. Ellie took her lips between her teeth, weighing her options. She knew it was getting late, the two were lounging sleepily on the couch together, and they would inevitably fall asleep. Dina would likely be passed out in minutes, especially since she was on the early morning shift. You can’t put this off forever, Ellie chastised herself.

Ellie’s hand moved to buttons of her flannel, toying with them anxiously. She glanced toward Dina briefly, at any attempt to gauge how her best friend was feeling, but her view was obstructed by Dina’s thick, wavy hair. 

“Dina?” Ellie asked softly, barely audible over the television. Her voice nearly shook. She cursed herself for not preparing what she would say to her best friend. When a few seconds of silence passed, her confidence started to waver. “Dina? Can I talk to you about something?”

A moderately sweaty hand reached towards Dina’s hair, brushing it behind her ear with the very tips of her fingers. Fucking be brave, Ellie told herself again. She leaned forward, to get a clear view of Dina’s face.

Dina’s eyes were shut, her chest rising and falling slowly. Ellie’s hand moved to her hair, then down her face, sighing in defeat.

“Of course you’re asleep.”


End file.
